Astragal with pressure switch



SePf- 13 1960 Hgw. cooKsoN, JR.. ETAL 2,952,751

ASTRAGAI.. WITH PRESSURE SWITCH Fid Feb. 3, 195s 'Fll'.5 l

INVENTUM. Haro/d W Coo/fa/z/f ,QL/55e# Ward/aw United States Patent ce2,952,751l Patented Sept. 13, 1960 ASTRAGAL WITH PRESSURE SWITCHCompany, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Calif. fornia FiledFeb. '3, 1958, Ser. No. 712,835

8 Claims. (Cl. 200--61.43)

This invention relates generally to astragals and more particularly toastragals with pressure switches for use with rolling doors.

ln the past, astragals have been provided on doors and particularly onrolling doors but such astragals have not been completely satisfactorybecause they fail to form a good seal when the door is closed. Suchastragals have also been unsatisfactory because means provided inconjunction with the astragal for causing the door to stop or revert toan open position when the astragal comes in contact with any object hasnot provided eifective positive control. Pressure switches utilized forthis purpose have been difficult to calibrate and often operatedimproperly.

In general, it is an object of the present invention to provide anastragal which forms a good seal when the door is closed.

Another object of the invention is to provide an astragal of the abovecharacter in which the astragal is particularly adapted to forming agood seal on rough surfaces.

Another object of the invention is to provide an astragal of the abovecharacter with a pressure switch incorporated therein which completes anelectrical circuit when the astragal comes in contact with any object.

Another object of the invention is to provide an astragal of the abovecharacter in which the pressure switch is mounted in the astragal in aparticularly novel manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide an astragal of the abovecharacter which can be readily installed.

Additional objects and features of the invention will appear from thefollowing description in which the preferred embodiment has been setforth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure l is a front elevational View of a portion of a rolling doorincorporating the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

In general, the present invention consists of an astragal formed ofresilient material and having a particularly novel shape and in which ismounted spring tempered conductors which serve as a pressure switch.

As shown in the drawing, the astragal 11 is formed of a suitableresilient material such as a vinyl or polyvinyl resin. The astragal asshown can be formed in any suitable manner such as by extruding ormolding. The astragal consists of a central hollow body portion 12 whichis substantially rectangular in crosssection as shown in Figure 2 and isprovided with a substantially rectangular hole 13 which extends thelength of the astragal. A pair of retaining lips 14 are situated withinthe hole 13 and form an integral part of the body portion 12. As shown,the lips extend a short distance from the side walls 16 forming the bodyportion 12 and extend in a plane substantially parallel to the plane ofthe bottom wall 17 and spaced a short distance from the bottom wall 17.A pair of flaps 18 and 19 are formed integral with the body 12 andextend outwardly from the body at an angle with respect to the body. Theinner sides of the flaps 18 and 19 are tapered so that the flaps have agradually increasing thickness towards the body portion 12. Theextremities of the aps 18 and 19 are provided with beads 21. The lengthof the flaps 18 and 19 is such that the extremities of the flaps extenda substantial distance beyond the lower or outer wall 17 of the bodyportion 12 for a purpose hereinafter described.

The astragal also consists of a retaining portion 23 which is mounted onthe wall 24 of the body portion 12 equidistant from the side edges ofthe wall 16 and extending at substantially right angles to the wall 24.The retaining portion 23 is provided with a slit 26 for a purposehereinafter described.

A switch 28 of the continuous strip type is mounted Within the hole 13in the body portion 12 adjacent the wall 17 and is held in place by thelips 14. The switch 28 can be of any suitable type well known to thoseskilled in the art. The switch 28 shown in the drawing consists of apair of spring tempered conductors 29 and 30 which can be considered tobe contact members. The conductors 29 and 30 have their side edgesseparated by insulating material (not shown) and are completely enclosedwithin a jacket 32 of insulating material. The jacket is provided toform side portions 33 which are adapted to readily seat in the spaceprovided between the lips 14 and the wall 17.

An astragal with the switch 28 mounted therein is adapted to be securedto one or more edges of a door for forming a sealing means for the doorand providing a safety device which will stop closing the door when theastragal comes in contact with an object. For example, as is shown inthe drawing, the astragal may be mounted on the lower edge of a rollingdoor. Such a rolling door as shown in the drawing can consist of aplurality of slats 36, the lower one of which extends into the slit 26.The astragal may then be secured to the slat 36 by any Asuitable meanssuch as the right angle members 38 which are secured together by bolts39 to firmly clamp the astragal to the slats 36. As will be noted fromthe drawing, one leg of each of the `angle members 38 is adjacent theretaining portion 23 and the other leg extends in a plane which iscoincident with the plane of the outer surface of the wall 24.

Operation of our astragal with the pressure switch may now be brieflydescribed as follows: Let it be assumed that the switch 28 has beenconnected to the electrical motor for operating the rolling door and theconnection is such that when the conductors or Contact members 29 and 30are urged into engagement with each other, the motor is eitherde-energized or caused to reverse. Also let it be assumed that t..erolling door is being lowered and as it is being lowered, the astragalstrikes an object before the door reaches a closed position. As soon asthe astragal strikes the object, the body portion 12 will be deformed tocause inward movement of the continuous strip electrical switch 28 andto cause the conductors 29 and 30 to engage each other to complete anelectrical circuit or contact. This electrical circuit or contact thendepending upon the connecting circuitry will either stop the motordriving the rolling door or will cause the motor to reverse to returnthe door to its fully open position. Thus, the door cannot be closeduntil the object being contacted is removed.

Since the continuous strip electrical switch extends the entire lengthof the astragal, it is readily apparent that any time any section of thebody portion 12 of the astragal strikes an object, an electrical circuitwill be completed. l

The circuitry is also arranged so that the switch 28 has no effect whenthe door is moved to a completely closed position. As the door is movingto the closed position, the flaps first engage the surface against whichthe door closes and are then spread apart as the door is graduallyclosed. The flaps serve to provide a good seal over very rough surfaces.When the bottom surface 17 ofthe central body portion 12 engages thesurface which the door is closed against, an additional seal is providedto protect against rain, wind and dust.

It is readily apparent that instead of being mounted on the lower edgeof a rolling door, our astragal with pressure switch may also be mountedon the side edge of a side coiling partition or door. It is also readilyapparent that such an astragal with pressure switch may also be mountedon other types of doors.

It is apparent from the foregoing that we have provided a new andimproved astragal with a pressure switch incorporated therein. It isobviousthat the safety device is not limited to use with an astragal ofthe particular type described herein. It is also obvious that theastragal may be utilized without the pressure switch if desired.`

We claim:

l. In an astragal of the type adapted for use with a door mounted in aframe, the astragal being formed of a resilient material and comprisinga hollow body, and a pair of aps extending at an angle from oppositesides of the body a distance beyond the outer portion of the body sothat the flaps come into engagement with the frame before the body, saidbody being adapted to be secured to one edge ofthe door.

2. In the combination of an astragal with a pressure switch, theastragal being formed of resilient material and being adapted to bemounted on one edge of a door, the astragal comprising a hollow bodywith a substantially flat outermost wall, and a pair of lips securedwithin said body, the pressure switch comprising a pair of strip-likeconductors mounted within said body, the side edges of the strip-likeconductors being insulated from each other and secured together to forma unitary assembly, one of the strip-like conductors being bowed tonormally prevent contact between the strip-like conductors, said switchbeing disposed between said lips and the outermost wall of the bodywhereby when the resilient body portion engages an object deformation ofthe resilient body portion causes the conductors to be urged intoengagement with each other to establish contact between the conductors.

3. In the combination of an astragal with a pressure switch wherein theastragal is of a type adapted for use with a door, the astragalcomprising a resilient body adapted to be mounted on an edge of thedoor,and liaps of a resilient material secured to the resilient body andextending at an angle away from said body a distance beyond the outerportion of the body, the pressure switch comprising a pair of contactmembers carried within the resilient body, said contact members beingurged into engagement with each other by deformation of the resilientbody when the resilient body strikes an object.

4. In the combination of an astragal with a pressure switch, theastragal being formed of resilient material and being adapted to bemounted on one edge of a door, the astragal comprising a hollow bodywith substantially flat outermost wall, a pair of resilient flapssecured to opposite sides of the body and extending away from the bodyat an angle with respect to the body and having their lower extremitiesextending beyond the outer portion of the body, and a pair of lipssecured within said body, the pressure switch comprising a pair ofconductors mounted within said body and disposed between said lips andthe outermost wall of the body whereby when the resilient body portionengages an object deformation of the resilient body portion causes theconductors to be urged into engagement with each other to establishcontact between the conductors.

5. In the combination of an astragal with a pressure switch, theastragal being formed of a resilient material and being adapted to bemounted on one edge of a door, the astragal comprising a hollow body anda pair of resilient flaps secured to opposite sides of the body andextending away from the body at an angle with respect to the body, theilaps having their lower `extremities extending beyond the -lowerportion of the body, the pressure switch comprising a pair of conductorsmounted within said body and disposed adjacent the outermost wall of thebody whereby when the resilient body portion engages an object,deformation of the resilient body causes the conductors to be urged intoengagement with each other to establish contact between the conductors.

6. In an astragal of the type adapted for use with a rolling door, theastragal being formed of a resilient material and comprising a centralhollow body having at least one substantially iiat wall, a pair of apsintegral with the opposite sides of the body and extending away from thebody at an angle with respect to the body, said flaps being of such alength that they extend beyond the outer portion of the body, and aretaining portion secured to said body and adapted to be fastened to anedge of said door, said retaining portion being provided with a slit.

7. An astragal as in claim 6 wherein said body is provided with a pairof retaining lips secured within the body and lying in a planesubstantially parallel to and spaced from the at wall of the body.

8. An lastragal as in claim 6 wherein said retaining portion extends atsubstantially right angles to the flat wall of the body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,511,055v Entwistle Oct. 7, 1924 2,663,057 Uphotf Dec. 22, 19532,740,856 Doeg Apr. 3, 1956 2,796,484 Wolf .Tune 18, 1957 2,796,488Cooper June 18, 1957

